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Ad-ID Now Offers URN to Boost Ad Effectiveness

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

To many people, “URL” is simply another term for “website.” But a URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, is just one part of a larger picture within the design of internet information. A URL is a subdivision of uniform resource identifiers (URIs), strings of characters used to identify a name or a resource on the internet either by location or name, depending on the subdivision used.

The first subdivision within URIs — and the one most people are familiar with — is URLs. A URL specifies where a resource is available and how the resource can be obtained. URLs are location-based. When users enter a URL into a browser, the URL will bring them to the place where the resource they are looking for should be. But a potential problem in using URLs is that content may have been moved to a new site or a new page on the same site. Since URLs are location-based, they may not work when content is moved — the file path is broken.

URNs Make Resources More Accessible

If a publisher wants information to be available regardless of the location, then the second subdivision within URIs, Uniform Resource Names (URNs), should be used. URNs are persistent location-independent resource identifiers. This means that the owner of the URN can expect that a user will always be able to find the resource, regardless of where it is on the internet, even if it’s been moved. Additionally, metadata like title, date, and length can be associated with URNs. Many agencies and advertisers use this identifier when placing ads on the internet.

Now, Ad-ID is pleased to offer URNs. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) published the Ad-ID URN Namespace Definition (RFC 8107) on March 13, 2017. In offering a URN, Ad-ID is providing another option that can be used by applications and systems for the carriage of an identifier. To use the Ad-ID URN, applications should follow the format urn:adid:ABCD0001000.

This recognition by the IANA and IETF joins references to Ad-ID in documents from the 12 organizations below. Further details regarding these references will be discussed in the next Ad-ID newsletter.

The development of a URN option is a notable step for Ad-ID and the advertising supply chain. This new option will help advance Ad-ID’s overall goal of improving transparency and accountability in the advertising marketplace, eliminate costly errors associated with the inconsistent use of advertising asset identifiers, and enable more granular audience measurement across multiple platforms.